Wiki In Africa/Focus/2027 Year Plan

This page provides a brief outline of Wiki In Africa’s 2027 Annual Plan that aligns with the Multi-Year Plan submitted to the Wikimedia Foundation Grants team in 2025. It is intended as any accompanying document for the Wiki In Africa General Support for 2027 application.

For detailed information on our organisational and project strategy, please consult:

Focuses for 2027

This is the 2027 Year Plan to be implemented by Wiki In Africa between January and December 2027. It represents the 2nd year as outlined in the Multi-Year Plan 2026-2028 (linked above).

This page will focus on the following elements:

Organisational goals and focus for 2027, specifically:

Operations
Administration
Organisational stability
Governance
Sustainability
Long-term strategy

And Programmatic goals and focuses for 2027, with smart goals.

Organisational Focuses

As an organisation, our activities will continue to focus organisational strengthening through governance and internal evolution.

What success looks like at the end of 2027

Visible impact of our projects in developing the Wikimedia movement and contributing to the Wikimedia projects
Content, passionate and proactive co-workers with clear pathways for development and growth
Achieving all goals set out below
Visibility and validity as a solid partner across multiple sectors
An engaged and active board with clear roles and responsibilities
A thriving community that is supported on their terms and at their pace – from newbies to the leadership
Diverse funding streams, partnerships and access to resources and collaborations
A clear pathway to a sustainable future

Required activities for 2027 specifically include:

Operations

Staff package review and alignment assessment (including inflationary impact)
Continue Visiting Wikimedians in Communications Internship programme
Continue to pay attention to and adapt operations to preserve the good physical and mental health of all staff.
Cross-train team members and develop a progression plan
Organise an all-hands staff meeting for team-building (external funding dependent), planned for 2027.

Administration and Finances

Consistently review, improve and update internal processes and optimise the costs of working at an international level.
Review and update costs (including NPO discounts) vs. necessity of subscriptions and platforms
Document processes and maintain shared resources.
Continue support for communities through Fiscal Sponsorship
Collaborate on webinars for fiscal sponsors on basic budgeting/reporting, supporting wider movement capacity.
Implement financial audit for 2026.

Organisational Stability

Explore viability of application as Thematic Affiliate via AffCom.
Implement achievable suggestions from the Financial Audit conducted in 2026.
Develop an Impact Evaluation Framework.
Investigate operational and programmatic applications to other funders.
Explore alternative streams to increase the financial buffer.
Maintain close ties and relationships with Wikimedia groups for mutual support (i.e. ED group).
Provide governance documentation templates for the Wikimedia community/fiscally sponsored projects needing structure.

Governance

Organize the Annual General Assembly (online)
Develop, review and update policies.
Implement an independent governance review.
Workshop and develop a succession plan.
Recruit at least 1 new board member to replace initial board members and to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with.
Maintain and reinforce board member engagement.
Elect new office bearers (AGM Nov 2027).

Sustainability

Conduct development and implementation of Sustainability Strategy.
Diversify funding sources for long-term security.
Activate a staff member to prioritise resource development, maximise funding opportunities and ensure consistent engagement with potential (and hopefully, future) funders.
Explore external funding streams through WMF support and independent advice
Communications development for Wiki Loves Africa and Wiki Loves Women (specifically websites)
Audit of communications with focus towards additional external funding

Programmatic Goals and Focuses

Wiki Loves Africa

Annual Media Contest on Commons.

Focus: Africa and Diaspora
Languages: English, French, Arabic, Portuguese

For more details on the strategy behind this program, please consult the Multi-Year Plan 2026-2028

Status: on-going
2027 Activities

14th year of Wiki Loves Africa
Masterclass Series development

Key Activities During 2027

Organise the 2027 Contest.
Host Office Hours in 3 languages.
Schedule and host Webinars, trainings and Master Classes, inviting experts as guest hosts.
Adjust the Ambassador program in 2027, guided by feedback.
Improve video and audio introductions, instructions, rules, training and support.
Continue cross-regional prize categories to diversify winners (Wilson Oluoha Prizes.
Continue the post-contest Photo Essay drive.
Continue the recognition and visibility of the work by Wikimedia communities.
Carry out interviews and surveys to receive feedback from participating photographers and organising communities
Launch WLA ISA campaign to encourage improvement of image descriptions and usability of contest uploads
Support potential and accepted grantees through the Grant Pathway initiative (Separate WMF agreement dependent)

Project extensions or additions

Media training on how to work with Wikimedia Commons photographs and the Wikimedia Community, as a collaboration with WikiAfrica Skills.
Update and consolidate a central knowledge library with toolkits, translation-ready slides, and accessible video tutorials.
Repurpose existing resources into short videos, recordings, and mobile-friendly materials.
Review audio prize category to encourage relevant submissions.
Fine-tune WLA Impact Dashboard and test and review metric and analytics tools for better impact collation.

Communications Focus

Ensure design elements are available to communities 1 month prior to contest
Collate a library of free licence images reflecting the 2027 theme to be used in campaigns
Create videos, including an introduction to the theme, separate short list video for the photo, video and audio categories, international winners, and Wilson Oluoha prize winners
Create international social media campaigns in 6 stages:
- Stage 1: Photo and video tips as they would apply to the 2027 theme. Include a campaign on how to create photo essays
- Stage 2: Webinars and office hours
- Stage 3: Inspiration campaign in the form of a case study that can be used for articles/photo essays/videos
- Stage 4: Reels and stories about:
  - WLA community activities
  - Past winners to inspire & re-engage
- Stage 5: Winners' socials campaign
- Stage 6: Wilson Prize social media campaign
Newsletters/Press Releases (cross-posted to LinkedIn articles)
- Launch newsletter sent to community/photographers 1 April to open contest (includes theme video)
- International Winners Announcement
- Wilson Prize Winners Announcement
Blog posts:
- Theme introduction
- Review of the online launch (in March)
- Review of stats once the project finishes (in May)
- Winners announcements
- Winners interview
New for 2027
- Keep the social media accounts active during non-activity periods to ensure a 5% growth during quiet periods.
- Grow WLA social media followers by 10% in 2027
- Create and grow a TikTok account to reach a younger audience
- Encourage more collaborative posting from communities on Instagram.

Impact Measurements 2027

Contest organisation

Planning and Support
- The contest takes place in the first quarter of 2027 (theme decided in Q4 2026)
- Host 3 Office Hours to support applications from Wikimedia communities or individuals for the WMF rapid grants program.
- Reuse of 2027 contributions on Wikimedia projects of at least 10% (12 months post-contest).
- The international photographic jury has at least 5 international members and conducts a transparent process towards the final selection.
- The international video jury has at least 3 professional filmmakers and conducts a transparent process towards the final selection.
- Winners in photo, video and audio categories are announced
Contest
- At least 15k media files (images, video and audio; contest average is 16,000) are submitted to the competition.
- A minimum of 25 African Wikimedia volunteer groups organise local WLA activities.
- At least 750 unique participants.
Reporting:
- 4 blog posts written
- 2 DIFF articles created
- Results and best practices are completed and published on Commons.
- Feedback survey to participants receives at least 70% positive engagement in the contest. Constructive improvements to further develop and enhance the programme for 2028.
- Conduct at least 10 interviews among local team organisers, showing high levels of satisfaction with the contest. Constructive improvements to further develop and enhance the programme for 2028.
- All metrics collated and analysed

Trainings/Webinars/Office hours Organise at least:

2 grants office hours
3 photography workshops hosted by professional photographers.
2 expert-hosted filmmaker workshops
1 photo essay training created by Wiki Loves Africa winners and ambassadors
1 audio training hosted by a professional sound engineer

WLA ISA TOOL

1 ISA Tool drive to improve descriptions and usability of WLA 2027 contest submissions. Drive has a minimum of 20 participants and 5,000 contributions

Wiki Loves Women

MultiLayered Global Gender Gap Program

Focus: Global Gender Gap
Languages: All

For more details on the strategy behind this program, please consult the Multi-Year Plan 2026-2028

Status: on-going
2027 activities:

8th SheSaid Campaign
8th TellUsAboutHer Campaign
2nd Focus Skills Cohort
WikiOTO continuation with AWW
Inspiring Open Bites - Community contribution

Key Activities in 2027

Wiki Loves Women’s general activities in 2027 include:

Update and consolidate a central knowledge library with toolkits, translation-ready slides, and accessible video tutorials.
Repurpose the existing resources into short videos, recordings, and mobile-friendly materials so women can learn at their own time.
In partnership with the WikiAfrica Skills Spotlights, invite WLW participants to learn best practices for working with news media and develop local language platforms.
Complete update of the WLW website (NEW)
Test and review metrics and analytics tools for better impact collation
Relating to communications:
- Continue to grow the WLW social media platforms organically, aiming for 10-15% growth across all channels
- Engage younger audience via the new WIA TikTok channel
- Promotion and sale of the Francautrice card game produced in 2026

SheSaid	Activities: Support the grant applications and successful grantees through the Grants Pathway initiative. Launch the 2027 campaign in September 2027 Support returning language communities and encourage the participation of new communities. Encourage organisers to document their events and impact Host training sessions in English and French Host office hours Compile and share statistics and engagement across all participating individuals and groups. Report on findings to the wider community and stakeholders Conduct interviews and surveys to understand participant and organiser experiences to inform future contests Communications: Collect free license images and quotes for new campaign Create and share the communications visual templates for translation into additional languages. Launch Newsletter/crossposted on LinkedIn (Sept) Social Media campaign Stage 1: Launch and She Said info Stage 2: Examples of notable women not on WikiQuote Stage 3: Pink Month (Oct) notable women in breast cancer awareness Stage 4: Closing campaign Showcase organisers and contributors through DIFF articles. Write blog posts that share knowledge, tips, and inspire the community.
WLW Focus Group -> Skills Focus	Activities: Define the 2027 Skills Focu programme theme Launch the call for applications and promote the programme to relevant communities and networks Select participants and communicate the results to successful applicants Deliver four core training sessions covering the key stages of podcast creation, from developing the concept and preparing interviews to recording, editing, and communication Support participants throughout the programme through office hours, resources, materials, and tailored guidance Document participants’ outputs through the production and recording of podcast episodes featuring women who inspire them Evaluate the programme and document key learnings to inform future editions Communications: Publish a call for applications for the 2027 Skills Focus cohort Create on-Wiki and other platforms to host the materials for the Cohort Publish the biographies and output of the cohort
Tell Us About Her	Activities: Announce the theme in February 2027 Launch the 2027 campaign in March Conduct an introduction/ training session to the ISA Tool Support returning language communities and encourage the participation of new communities. Communications: Collect free license images related to the theme Social media campaign 1: Call for participation. Social media campaign 2: Education about ISA Tool Social media campaign 3: Campaign stats and winners.
Wiki Ara-Oto	Activities: Partner with relevant Wikimedia groups to co-organise and coordinate the campaign (in 2026: Africa Wiki Women) Launch the campaign and mobilise participants Organise and facilitate training sessions and learning activities Compile, analyse, and report on campaign results Communications: Select Campaign theme: Women in… (2026: Politics) Social media campaign: Call for participation.
Inspiring Open	Activities: Invite community members to participate in Inspiring Open Bites; amplify online when published. Host sessions to support onboarding and development. Monitor listening statistics
FrancAutrices	Activities: The game was produced without grant (GFS) money. If not yet reimbursed in 2026, activities will include selling the game to reimburse our expenses. Promote the game to raise awareness (free knowledge, gender gap, wikiquote). Explore the feasibility of creating an English version with at least 1 partner.

Impact Measurements 2027

Communication SMART Goal:

Continue to grow the WLW social media platforms by 10%.

SheSaid	Planning and Support Onboard a minimum of 2 new language communities A minimum of 10 communities are inspired to participate A minimum of 100 participants join the campaign (difficult to track) A minimum of 12 organisers (at least) SheSaid central portal updated for 2027 SheSaid redlists and queries (minimum of 10) reconfigured for 2027 Support the application of 10 communities or individuals for rapid grant. (non-GFS support by WMF) Training Host 4 office hours and training sessions throughout the project The WLW team successfully hosts one iteration of the train-the-trainer course during the course of 2027 (funding-dependent). Contest 20 Wikiquote language projects impacted 12 national, regional or theme-focused teams (usergroups or volunteer groups) participate 8,000 entries created or improved Reporting: 3 blog posts written 2 DIFF articles created Encourage documentation of events hosted by at least 60% of organisers Feedback Survey conducted with at least 12 organisers All metrics collated and analysed
Skills Focus	A min. of 15 Africa-based individuals fill the call for participation form. A min. of 15 Africa-based individuals join the cohort programme A min. of 4 gender-gap-related webinars are presented and published to transfer knowledge and inspire further action consistently. 4 Focus Group trainers beyond WIA team Feedback is collected and collated from a minimum of 10 Skills Focusmembers about the program, and includes constructive suggestions for further developing and enhancing the programme for 2027/28.
Tell Us About Her (on the ISA Tool)	One online image description improvement drive run on ISA Tool A minimum of 35 participants
Wiki OTO	A min. of 50 participants participate to the campaign A min. of 1,500 contributions to Wikidata A new collaboration join to host the campaign A minimum of 2 DIFF articles outline the launch and results of WikiOTO
Inspiring Open	Record, release, and distribute at least 6 Inspiring Open bites by community members.
FrancAutrices	Distributed an/or sell at least 20% of 2026 games 1 application for external funding; 1 discussion with a potential partner.

WikiChallenge African Schools

Primary School Writing Competition

Focus: Africa and MENA
Languages: French, English and Arabic

For more details on the strategy behind this program, please consult the Multi-Year Plan 2026-2028

Status: on-going
2027 Activities

9th WikiChallenge Ecoles d’Afrique

Key Activities in 2027

Contest

Run the WikiChallenge Écoles d’Afrique new edition
Winners selected, announced, celebrated and gifted.
All results and impact added to the WikiChallenge pages
Host a training session and/or produce awareness documents about IP rights and AI.
Test and review metric and analytics tools for better impact collation.

Communications focus

General awareness around the project and its impact
Social media and blog posts to celebrate specific milestones
Conduct a TikTok campaign around AI and Wikimedia/Vikidia

Impact Measurements

At least 15 countries participate
At least 300 schools participate
At least 350 articles are created and added to Vikidia.
3 languages: French, English, Arabic (Orange-funding dependent)
Minimum of 10 Orange liaisons / Wikipedians trainers sought and incorporated.
5 communications actions that celebrate project milestones(poster, conference, diff, etc.).
New for 2027: Implement a two-step selection process to facilitate the work of the main jury

Note: The WikiChallenge Écoles d’Afrique project is mostly funded by Fondation Orange. The activities and goals are being communicated to represent general Wiki In Africa planning and are only partially linked to GFS funding.

WikiAfrica Skills

Community Skills and Capacity Building

Focus: Africa and Diaspora, Global Audience
Languages: English, French, and Arabic

For more details on the strategy behind this program, please consult the Multi-Year Plan 2026-2028

Status: activated in 2026
2027 Activities:

Consolidate ongoing work
Release at least 2 new courses

Key Activities in 2027

Resource Library Development

Continue the curation of Wiki In Africa's twelve years of existing training materials and sessions across all projects into a findable resource page using Wikibase
Cross-analyse existing resources across WIA projects, topics and languages; identify gaps for course curation (pathways), resource creation and training sessions
In collaboration with project leads and comms, initiate repurposing and reuse of existing materials into courses and comms campaigns
Further develop the WLA impact dashboard created in 2026
Implement and monitor analytics to assess the success of the program since inception

Course Development and Support

Continue Wikibase trainings for team members; initiate Wikibase training for the community
Survey community members, user groups, and Hubs to collate priority training focuses
Identify effective training strategies (based, in part, on the community feedback)
Identify and facilitate trainers and experts to support training initiatives
Facilitate and implement 2 additional courses (WikiAfrica Skills Spotlights) for 2027
Support requests from other groups, affiliates or hubs (including Content Partnership Hub)

Communications and Visibility

Provide visibility for the WikiAfrica Skills resource platforms once launched
Publish social media posts and 1 newsletter outlining WIA learning resources.
Additionally, all Wiki In Africa newsletters will have a section at the end highlighting one learning resource.
Create a monthly focus on specific webinars/video topics training(s) available.
Create a TikTok learning resource channel to engage youth

Impact measurements 2027

Continue indexing and reviewing 60 WIA existing training materials and sessions across all projects onto platforms established in 2026.
Continue identifying training opportunities and focus gaps in Wiki Loves Africa program.
Identify training opportunities and focus gaps in Wiki Loves Women program.
Survey 5 User Groups for priority training focus.
Analyse 20 existing OER resources.
Create 3 new resources to fit the gaps discovered.
Identify and facilitate trainers and experts to support 3 training initiatives.
Attend up to 5 support requests from other groups, affiliates or hubs.

WikiAfrica Hour

Live Community Conversations for and by Community

Focus: Africa and Diaspora, Global Audience
Languages: mainly English, French

For more details on the strategy behind this program, please consult the Multi-Year Plan 2026-2028

Status: on-going
2027 Activities:

4 episodes in the year (eg, during Wikimania etc.)

Key Activities in 2027

Vodcasting

Plan and host 4 WikiAfrica Hour episodes
Identify, invite and support Guests and Guest Hosts for each episode
Identify, invite and work with possible partnering organisations and projects to host special-focus or event-based WikiAfrica Hour episodes (eg, WikiAfrica Hour during Wikimania, as per Wikimania 2026 and Wikimania 2025)

Communications focuses include:

Publish at least 1 DIFF post related to WikiAfrica Hour
Support each episode with social media posts
Publish at least 1 blog post on Wiki In Africa website about the WikiAfrica Hour episodes

Impact Measurements 2027

Host a minimum of 4 WikiAfrica Hour episodes.
Invite and support at least 4 guest hosts.
Host at least 12 guests discussing their experiences.
Host Morning Briefings at Wikimania and/or WikiIndaba (program and COT approval dependent)

ISA Tool

Contribution Tool linking structured data to images

Focus: Global, Visual Gaps, Structured Data
Languages: All

For more details on the strategy behind this program, please consult the Multi-Year Plan 2026-2028

Status: on-going
2027 Activities:

3 Wiki In Africa drives
Support technical team, as required

Key Activities in 2027

Operations

WIA runs three ISA campaigns to improve topic areas in Commons
Increase Wikimedia awareness of the tool (webinar, poster at conferences, listed for hackathon…)

Communications focuses

Awareness to support WIA-drives
Awareness drive among Wikimedians to use the tool for their campaigns
Make visible the technical improvements implemented in 2025/6 (blog or social posts)

Impact Measurements

Host at least 3 Wiki In Africa ISA campaigns throughout the year: WLA 2027, WLW Tell Us About Her; + one other.
At least 10,000 contributions through Wiki In Africa Drives on ISA each year
Support WM drives that result in at least 180 contributors participating each year

Partnerships

Content Partnerships Hub

(funding external to WIA GFS)

WIA Activities in 2027

WikiAfrica Skills conducts 1 training to support Wikibase use
Continue supporting the mapping of GLAM and Wikipedian In Residence (WIR) training resources
Continue to support the CPH Helpdesk Africa queries
Map potential content partners at a local, regional and continental level

Les sans pagEs (FrancAutrices)

(funding external to WIA GFS)

WIA Activities in 2027

Continued distribution and sales of the FrancAutrices card game
Promotion of the card game (awareness around Wikiquote and the gender gap)
Research, plan an English edition (including identifying and approaching partners)

SICSS 2027

(funding external to WIA GFS)

WIA Activities in 2027

Explore the possibility of repeating the SICSS 2026 collaboration program in 2027
Review and application of lessons learned from SICSS 2026 into 2027 proposal
Apply for new (separate) funding for SICSS 2027

SUPSI: VIZWP

(funding external to WIA GFS)

WIA Activities in 2027

Promote the first release of the tool
Host 2 training sessions for WM communities on how to use the tool (English and French)
Provide feedback for the 2.0 release

Enablement

Fiscal Sponsorships

(dependent on separate applications to WMF funding by community members and groups)

WIA Activities in 2027

Provide Fiscal Sponsorship support for at least 2 communities in 2017
Summarise the impact of all Fiscal Sponsorship activities done since the inception of the organisation (number, amount, type of action)
Implement adjustments to internal process from 2026 review (including recipient survey)
Revisit the request stage and onboarding process for Fiscal Sponsorships

Communications activities

Conduct satisfaction and process survey of recipients

Impact Measurements

3 fiscal sponsorship requests received
2 fiscal sponsorship arrangements supported
USD 5,000 (value of grants) facilitated through WIA
5 beneficiaries successfully received their WMF funding through WIA
At least 75% positive satisfaction of the Fiscal Sponsorship experience reported by beneficiaries
At least 75% positive assessment of the value of fiscal sponsorship reported by beneficiaries